There is simply no excuse for Scotland’s slow justice. We have to do better

Scotland’s justice system used to be the envy of the world. Something we could really be proud of.

But it’s hard to be proud of a system that is so broken, bereaved families have to wait seven or eight years for answers and justice.

I’ve been involved in the biggest cases in the country, the Stockline explosion, the Clutha police helicopter crash, both Sumburgh Super Puma cases, and Piper Alpha, and I’ve seen first hand the anguish suffered by those families during the long, cold wait for justice.

The Grenfell Tower disaster was so much bigger in scale than the likes of the Scottish hospitals inquiry.

Despite that, the Grenfell families only had to wait a single day to be told there would be an inquiry. They’ve already had the first phase report and the inquiry is continuing.

During the first Super Puma crash Fatal Accident Inquiry there was major criticism about the length of time it had taken – seven years – for evidence to be heard.

In January this year, during the preliminary hearing of the FAI into the second Sumburgh crash in 2013, which claimed four lives, Sheriff Principal David Pyle was highly critical of the seven-year delays, describing them as like “wading through treacle”.

He said it was

“deplorable” that the grief families had suffered would have to be revisited, and I agree totally with his sentiments.

Sheriff Pyle hoped the Crown Office would “honestly reflect” on how to prevent such delays in future.

But, unless we see a major investment in staff and resources, I cannot see things changing for Scotland.

The backlog is too big, and there are too few people able to tackle those major cases waiting, some of which are extremely complex.

While the Crown Office has many fine people who are extremely good at pursuing criminal cases, civil and medical negligence cases require a very different expertise and knowledge.

Our Fatal Accident Inquiry system is thorough, but there are not nearly enough of them.

The Coroner Court system in England certainly seems to be far more accessible to grieving families. And because those hearings are plentiful, families there do not face the pain of waiting years for answers.

If Grenfell can be up and running as quickly as it was, there is no excuse for Scotland’s “slow justice”. We must do better.

David Short is head of litigation at law firm Balfour Manson and Scottish Secretary of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers